Naeem Qassem: It is our right to respond to the assassination of Al-Tabtabai and we will determine the timing for it

SadaNews - The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naeem Qassem, threatened Israel with a response to the assassination of the party's Chief of Staff, Haitham Ali Al-Tabtabai, in an airstrike that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut at the beginning of this week. He stated, "We will determine the timing for this ourselves."

During his speech, Qassem said, "I assigned Abu Ali Al-Tabtabai to lead the 'Awli Al-Bas' battle, and he was the link with the resistance organization, and he was truly the master of the 'Awli Al-Bas' battle. His loss is significant, but it is also a great gain for him, as martyrdom was his aspiration and the goal of his journey."

He added, "We are a resistance and a cohesive party with deep roots and established origins. We have made thousands of sacrifices, but at every stage we manage to regain our strength and replace our leaders with great power and steadfastness. The goal of the assassination was not achieved and will not be achieved, and we tell the Israelis: Abu Ali has many brothers."

Qassem pointed out that "there are always espionage efforts on land, at sea, and in the air, and we are in an open arena due to international coverage and visitors from foreign nationalities, including some Arab intelligence, all of which unfortunately contribute to providing the Israeli enemy with the information it wants."

He threatened to respond to the assassination of Al-Tabtabai by stating, "What happened is a blatant attack and a described crime, and it is our right to respond. We will determine the appropriate timing for that ourselves."

He continued, "The ceasefire is a day of victory for the resistance, Hezbollah, the people, and Lebanon, as we succeeded in preventing the enemy from achieving its objectives, foremost among them is the termination and eradication of the resistance, and this did not happen. This alone is a victory."

Qassem clarified that "the agreement represents a new phase in which the state has decided to take responsibility for expelling the occupation and deploying the Lebanese army, and therefore there is aggression that must stop, and the prisoners must be released," pointing out that "the ceasefire came as a result of our steadfastness, and thanks to the legendary performance of our resistors on the front lines, the steadfastness of our generous people, and the support of the Amal movement and the army for this front."

He mentioned, "The enemy has done everything it can to eliminate the resistance, but it has failed, as it faced a humble group that managed to confront the tyrannical Israeli-American criminality, and the Israeli project has broken on the thresholds of the 'Awli Al-Bas' battle."

Qassem addressed the Lebanese government by saying, "The government said it wanted to confront and defend, and I tell it: It is not possible to take rights without performing the most important duties, which is to protect citizens. Let the government show us how it will deter the enemy," adding that "the primary responsibility for deterrence lies with the state, its army, and its people. So what did they do in terms of deterrence? They did not liberate, did not protect, and did not prevent the enemy from stabilizing politically."

He continued, "As for the resistance, what has it done in terms of deterrence? It expelled the enemy in 2000, and since then until 2023, it has deterred it and protected Lebanon, and since 2023 to today, we are facing Israel by preventing the enemy from stabilizing, and we are still exercising this role in cooperation with the state. The government must invest in the capabilities of its people to achieve stability prevention leading to the expulsion of the enemy."

Qassem emphasized that "no one has a mandate to abandon Lebanon's strength; rather, the mandate is for liberation and the recovery of land and prisoners, so invest in the will of our people. The march of Hamra Street, with all its diversity, raised the slogan of expelling the enemy and independence, which confirms that this goal is collective and transcends all affiliations and rejects Israel."

He said, "We are ready to talk about the defense strategy, but not under pressure, nor seeking a new agreement, nor for the sake of relinquishing our strength within the framework of any other agreement, nor to evade the current agreement. The resistance is present, and we have what makes us strong like the mountains standing against fierce winds."

Qassem added, "The enemies have escalated the level of threats recently after realizing that the sedition between the people and the army and all the pressures they exercised were ineffective. I tell you that these threats will not advance or delay anything, and with this people and this spirit, there is no chance for them to succeed in what they are doing; this is a people that does not surrender and cannot be defeated, and dishonor is far from us."

He mentioned, "We do not accept that the enemy decides our way of life; it wants Lebanon to be a backyard. As for us, our people, our allies, and our army, we will not accept to be tails for Israel. The government, which decided to confront, must put plans for confrontation with its people and army, and it has many options." Qassem stressed that "it is not in our interests to surrender; we will stand firm and defend, and the blood of our martyrs will not be wasted. It is better for our citizens that we unite against the foreigner."